Instead of telling that story, Miliband wants to pretend to be someone else. Someone 'more' normal. Yet he doesn't have the wherewithal to fake it. Crucially - and he hasn't realised this yet - he doesn't have the need to, either. His real persona is a more trustworthy vote-winner than his fake one.

You've heard people talking about PR, 'oooh you MUST use PR in your marketing' or 'I'm going to outsource my PR' but what does it even mean? PR is public relations. Which still doesn't really mean anything.

Oborne is right that HSBC's behaviour in helping clients avoid tax was shameful (if not illegal) but he's wrong that the Telegraph's response was just as shameful or immoral. If you're a cynic like me, you might view it as not terribly unusual. And you might wonder how interested the newspaper's readers will be once the story has died down.

When we feel passionate about our subject and have something important to share, we want the whole world to know about it. I can't tell you how many times aspiring authors have said to me that the most important thing for them is to get their book into as many hands as possible.

Why is there such an unwillingness or lack of proactive effort to move with the times? If you pride yourself on developing relevant brand-marketing strategies, it's crucial to diversify the PR employee roster.

From the slick 'Yes' campaign that almost delivered a sensational victory in the Scottish independence referendum to the embarrassing spectacle of Ed Miliband's attempt to eat a bacon sandwich, 2014 has demonstrated the increasing importance of presenting the right image. But who were the biggest PR winners and losers of the year?

'The internet and social media have empowered the PR trade and freed it from subservience to the news media.' This was the provocative starting point for an RSA debate recently, which also asked what this premise meant for the future of journalism and, more importantly, the future of public interest.

I've recently noticed two key trends in communications. Firstly, more agencies seem to be either hiring a specific person responsible for business development or relying more heavily on 'pitch' teams, and secondly, I've seen more companies asking for reassurance in new business meetings, that the team that they see is the one they will be working with...

Earlier this year the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed that 29 firms had applied for authorisation to become banks in the UK. This was a direct result of the regulator relaxing rules last year for new banking entrants so that it would be easier for firms to become banks, and helping to bolster competition in the market place at the same time.

HD Personality is built to help businesses and organisations deliver customer expectations; what should lead to customer experience and ultimately customer retention... almost all the resources allocated to re-branding exercises, crisis management and PR can be saved; if brands practiced honesty and directness in their communications.

Everything's a marketing opportunity. Our existence is only a chance to prove how brilliant we are, and to congratulate our mates for their brilliance too... The fact is, the more we PR our lives online, the more isolated we become. With every 'Ibiza. Done' status update we move further and further away from meaningful relationships with our families, friends and lovers.

he press will always be vitally important in PR, but they're just not as important as the public. And today, if PR clients want to reach the public they don't necessarily need to go through a journalist to do it.

Communications is a broad church these days, but media relations will always be part of the mix. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be a battle and, quite frankly, it shouldn't be. Both Peston and Cohen suggest that they see PRs as guard dogs, preventing them access to spokespeople and stories. In my opinion, if we are doing that it's bad media relations.

The creation of social media means brands now have a new means by which to attract customers - if campaigns are executed properly. Here's a look at some of the social media strategies being employed in Brazil.

According to research we unveiled last week reinforces this view. The technology market for financial services is truly big business with multi-million dollar contracts regularly being made available for tender.

Cannes. I don't mean the movie thing. I mean the Lions. The Lions are about Creative Directors, clients, agency execs and people that matter all in one place to review, celebrate and learn from each others work.

Talking often gets bad press. Some people do it way too much. However, most organisations and leaders don't do it enough, particularly when there is an issue in play. Whether you are a football referee, or Chief Executive of a care home from which a war hero has absconded, the rule is simple: When you have nothing to say, keep quiet. But when you do, make sure you say it or others will say something else that you may not like.

The day you get that free pen in the charity mailer, you know it's started. The beginning of the rest of your life. The re-labelling of the individual you thought you were. Now part of the homogenous mass of 'oldies', also known as 'the over 50s'.

With the World Cup only days away it seems it's not only nations that will be going head to head at the tournament - brands are in on the act too. As battles rage on the pitch, big names clash off it, all looking to cut through the crowd and get one over on their rivals.

At the end of the day it's a win-win situation for sports agencies to avoid jargon in all their marketing strategies. Thinking outside the box is now a no brainer for sport PR pros looking to produce engaging and informative content...

Cheryl Cole for L'Oreal, Ryan Reynolds for Hugo Boss, Roger Federer for Gillette. Three celebrities but only one has picked up every accolade their industry has to offer. In sport, while looks are useful, talent is the thing that brands are buying.

If Ed doesn't get himself some new Public Relations drones, it might be one of the few options open to him come the next election. I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that's something that no-one wants to see.

Being forgotten on the search engines is just about certain links being removed from the public eye, not the actual content; because search engines don't own the contents that appear in the search results when one is searching for specific information.